A common desire expressed by many people who have managed to be a little greener in their own lives is how to convince their MD at work to actively care more about the environment and take the business itself down a greener path. When it comes to business one has to make the business case to achieve change and this is often daunting.
Priya from Brixton asked me that exact question. This is the answer I give nowadays:
There are a few key areas you can focus on and all of them get the best results when management spreads the word and sets a good example by leading the way. Make your bosses job easy by doing the research and giving him the answers he needs.
Energy
There are many alternate energy suppliers able to offer a business alternative energy. Check out Good Energy & Ecotricity. Lots of companies, big and small, from newspapers to football clubs, are making the switch.
Food & Drink
What goodies does your kitchen or canteen stock? Coffee, Tea, Milk, Fresh Fruit...much of what is purchased can be organic and/or FairTrade...at least they can offer a choice to assess what the staff want. If enough staff sign an email asking for a trial it is likely that the company will take note and act accordingly.
Stationary
How many mouse mats, pens, pencils, staples, Christmas cards, labels, flip-chart markers, paper and envelopes does your company use? Great green office alternatives here (note: shameless plug for my employer). Not saying it will all be cheaper but I will come onto the cost-benefit in a minute.
Personal space
One of the things that used to drive me wild was leaving the office at the end of the day and seeing stuff i.e. computer monitors left on overnight.
I used to wander round switching stuff off for a good 3 minutes every day. Get your colleagues to switch stuff off themselves to save the company electricity bill from soaring for all those appliances left on over night.
And make sure the office lights get switched off...there is nothing worse than an entire floor of lights left on over night for no good reason...and again it is a huge waste of company cash.
Business strategy
Ultimately we know that money is important to a business. Lets assume as much energy is saved as possible it might still be hard to calculate the saving quickly enough but going green is more than just about direct cash.
It is about understanding that the traditional bottom line of profit has two pals that have been ignored for too long: people and planet. Together all three make up what is now commonly known as the Triple Bottom Line. And there is plenty of monetary, and therefore even shareholder, hay to be made by those early adopting companies quick to go green.
Soon not going green will be frowned on by customers so those brave MDs who get stuck in now can make their companies look fantastic for a little extra green effort.
And if they want proof that there is green in traditional businesses going green then just tell them to check out what WalMart, Tesco and Marks & Spencers have all recently achieved in giving their companies lots of free PR and a great green competitive edge.
I am not saying those companies are perfect...but they are taking good steps in green directions and that is to be applauded and encouraged.
Until next time...
Keep it green...
Al
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